4 Quick Solutions to Dramatically Improve WWE Raw and SmackDown

It's no secret WWE's Raw and SmackDown are in some serious trouble.

Even without big competition from the NFL or even NBA more recently, ratings have been dipping or hardly recovering. A stale product, questionable usage of talent, budding competitors and oversaturation have hurt WWE's two main brands.

This would explain, at least in part, why Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff are taking over Raw and SmackDown, respectively. It is clear each show has a serious problem at a basic functional level. For years, that problem has stifled the product and damaged engagement while arguably failing to create new fans.

With what seems to be a new era starting to get underway soon, here are a few quick fixes WWE can implement right away to help start breathing new life into the brands.

Ditch Shane McMahon...and The Undertaker

Credit: WWE.com

The "best in the world" thing has gone too far. It was (sort of) funny at first when Shane McMahon won that title in Saudi Arabia, but it hasn't been humorous since.

Lately, Shane has squashed talent like The Miz and even picked up a win over Roman Reigns. He's squandered Drew McIntyre's potential and shoved him into a hired-crony role. To top it all off, he is now involved in a random feud with Undertaker.

Undertaker has to go too.

Shane is a good heel, undoubtedly. But that he's one of the better ones in the company is a massive sign of WWE's problems in the first place. He needs to stop hogging airtime and let other talents emerge.

Undertaker is self-explanatory at this point. He can't go in the ring like he used to, regardless of whether fans want to blame him for the botch-fest against Goldberg. His random involvement in a tag match with Reigns against Shane and McIntyre has the feel of desperation from WWE, not a meaningful story that leads to something more.

Ditch PG

Credit: WWE.com

If there is one thing Heyman and Bischoff figure to do, it's steer WWE away from its beloved PG rating.

This has already happened a bit with the Braun Strowman-Bobby Lashley collision and Kofi Kingston giving Samoa Joe the finger. The former was cool for a one-off thing. The latter felt a little weird coming from Kingston, but it was a nice nod to those who felt like non-PG programming was on the way.

And hopefully, it is. This doesn't mean Superstars should be running around constantly dropping expletives for shock value. It doesn't have to mean an uptick in blood. But fans can feel when the constraints of the ratings are holding back things or characters. Some of New Day's innuendo is restrained. Some of the violence from, say, an AJ Styles-led Bullet Club could end up hampered.

But not if WWE loosens the grip on PG. Edgier isn't always better, but none at all hurts. Giving Superstars some wiggle room to craft more memorable moments and characters is a must, which would double to get viewers thinking anything could happen at any moment again on Raw and SmackDown.

Strap Rockets to Ricochet and Aleister Black

Credit: WWE.com

WWE has some solid, established stars already, but it doesn't feel like the tier below current champions offers much that isn't damaged (think, McIntyre- and Strowman-style damaged).

Raw and SmackDown, then, can start being the breeding ground for the next wave.

And two of the best aren't doing too much right now. Ricochet is the United States champion and took a beatdown from Styles and his club recently. But the brief bit of exposure has shined a light on his poor mic skills. That'll have to change through the addition of a manager or something because otherwise, he's one of the most electrifying talents in the world in the ring.

Aleister Black is one of the other big ones who need a bump as soon as possible. He's been sitting around cutting promos for weeks while begging for a fight. While these have been good, it feels like he's stuck in a holding pattern or limbo.

That is a shame. Black has a bit of a supernatural feel to him, which is sorely needed on the roster right now. Bray Wyatt could come back at any time, but past damage to his character and the unknown of his current direction muddies the waters.

A good look, mic skills, dynamite entrance and lethal striking in the ring have Black looking like a complete package. There isn't any reason he shouldn't be one of the top featured acts each week.

Make the Title Scenes Interesting Again

Credit: WWE.com

This one sounds complicated—but really isn't.

Seth Rollins' universal title reign is clearly in a holding pattern until bigger pay-per-views arrive. As such, he's been tossed into mixed-tag purgatory with Becky Lynch and had his real-life relationship thrust onto the screen.

This isn't saying it isn't fun at times. But Rollins' reign started by low-blowing Brock Lesnar and winning early on the WrestleMania card. Since, he's been all over the place, having a fun one-off with Styles and beating the tar out of randoms with chairs. Nothing has really stuck, and his character is in neutral, so giving him a longer-term opponent to feud with would be a welcome change.

Kingston has had filler stuff too with Dolph Ziggler. The Samoa Joe angle is new and welcome, as is the mentioned wrinkle to his character. Kingston's reign overall hasn't been bad, but it also feels like nothing major has yet to happen, and he's feeling a bit stale so soon after 'Mania.

This all seems natural enough. For a company that boasted an absent title as a major angle for the last six months or so, one would think doing better with the very top titles would be priority No. 1. Throwing those into must-see angles from here on out is as good a place to start as any.